AB0490 Nailfold capillaroscopy in patients with early systemic sclerosis: less severe microangiopathy compared to patients with definite disease

Background Microangiopathy plays a central role in the pathogenesis of systemic sclerosis (SSc). Nailfold capillaroscopy (NFC) is a useful tool for the assessment of the microcirculation in patients with Raynaud’s phenomenon (RP), and for early diagnosis of SSc. Objectives To analyze the morphological changes of the microcirculation using videocapillaroscopy in patients with early SSc compared to patients with primary RP and definite SSc, as well as to healthy controls. Methods This was a cross sectional study in which 211 subjects were included as followed: 80 patients with definite SSc (American College of Rheumatology classification criteria), 46 patients with early SSc (LeRoy and Medsger criteria from 2001), 40 patients with primary RP and 45 healthy controls. Videocapillaroscopy was performed using an opticalprobe under 200x magnification contact lens connected to an image analysis software (Videocap 8.14, DS-Medica, Italy). The following parameters were analyzed in eight digits of the hands (excluding thumbs) with the acquirement of 32 images per individual (4 fields per finger): number of capillaries/mm, number of enlarged and giant capillaries, microhaemorrhages, ramified capillaries and avascular score. For each parameter, a semiquantitative rating scale (0 to 3) was adopted. Besides, patients with scleroderma (SD) pattern on NFC were classified into three different patterns: early, active and late pattern. Results Patients with early SSc had significantly higher number of capillaries/mm (9.36 ± 1.00 capillaries/mm) compared to patients with definite SSc (7.45 ± 1.69 capillaries/mm) (p